One of my favorite cards from the recent Battle for Zendikar set is From Beyond, an enchantment that spawns Scion tokens. While definitively a spitting image of Awakening Zone from Rise of the Eldrazi, it makes you question: which is better?

It all depends on the play style. Both enchantments offer you tokens that can be sacrificed for a colorless mana each, ramping you just a little more each turn. However, there the similarities end.

Awakening Zone can be played one turn earlier than From Beyond, giving you a quicker boost in mana/ramp. The trade is that you get 0/1 Spawn, leaving you no real option other than to use as chump blockers or for their mana. From Beyond, while more expensive, seems to be far more versatile. That one extra mana gives you tokens with 1 power, making up for the lack of power that Zone has. The extra sacrifice ability on the bottom of Beyond is also enormous-rather than losing so much to a simple Naturalize, you can pay the 1G (and get a colorless from one of your Scions!) and get any Eldrazi from your deck, be it a Blisterpod, All is Dust, Eldrazi Conscription or even Emrakul, the Aeons Torn!

So, is From Beyond better than Awakening Zone? Perhaps; the more aggressive cost and simplicity of Awakening Zone may be overlooked, even left alone as a non-threat, while From Beyond can cause your opponent(s) to use a counter or removal to deal with how threatening it may be-searching. It all depends on the deck(s), the board state, and the draw.

Do you believe one is truly better than the other? Comment below!

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He resides in northern New Jersey, where he plots world domination.​

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